Hugo & Victor's Pink Grapefruit Tart

There are two things I tell my friends to get when they go to Paris:  the mango passion caramels from Jacques Genin and this pink grapefruit tart from Hugo & Victor.  So when I saw a recipe for the tart in Dorie Greenspan's Baking Chez Moi, I was ecstatic!  I even bought a $25 bottle of Campari just so I could have the 2 1/2 tablespoons needed to make the grapefruit crémeux because I wanted to follow the recipe as close as possible.

And yet so many things went wrong, mostly because I was impatient.  First the sweet tart dough shattered when I tried to fit it into the tart pan because I hadn't waited long enough for it to warm up a bit after letting it chill in the freezer.  Luckily, this was pretty easy to fix because you could just patch up the cracks but pressing the extra dough in.  (next time I'll just fit the crust into the tart pan after rolling it out and then chill it, which is how I wrote the recipe below.)  

Then, when it was time to add the grapefruit crémeux (which I think is just a fancy French word for gelatinous cream), I didn't whisk it long enough so it was still kind of curdy when I spread it on.  Again, I was kind of fortunate because the grapefruit topping hides most of it, and the texture doesn't affect the taste at all.

That said, please learn from my mistakes and take plenty of time to make this tart.  I'd definitely start the sweet tart dough and maybe the grapefruit crémeux the day before.  There's lot of chilling the dough, then blind baking it, then cooling it, then baking it again (with the lemon-almond cream), and cooling it again before topping it with the crémeux and grapefruit topping and then chilling it one last time to set before serving.  

But it's worth it!  Not only is it totally beautiful to look at, it tastes incredible.  Even people who don't like grapefruit love this tart!  I think it helps that you've done some of the hard work by removing all the membrane from the grapefruit segments already so that all you have to do is take a bite, and you get the tartness of the fruit, a hint of bitterness from the Campari, sweetness from the fillings, and lots of buttery richness from the snappy crust.

Hugo & Victor's Pink Grapefruit Tart (adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking Chez Moi)
makes 1 tart

For the sweet tart dough:
1 1/2 cups (204 g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (60 g) confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
9 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter
1 large egg yolk

Put the flour, confectioners' sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times to blend.  Cut the butter into small pieces and scatter over the dry ingredients.  Pulse until the butter is cut in coarsely.

Stir the yolk just to break it up and drizzle over the rest of the ingredients.  Pulse until the egg is incorporated, then process in longer pulses, about 10 seconds each, until the dough forms clumps and curds.   Finish blending the dough by turning it out onto a work surface and smearing small amounts across the surface with the heel of your hand.

Shape the dough into a disk and place between two sheets of parchment or wax paper.  Roll the dough out evenly until it is about 12" in diameter.  Carefully fit into a buttered tart pan and trim the excess dough.  Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or if you're short on time, for 1 hour in the freezer.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.  Prick the crust all over with a fork.  Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit snugly on top of the crust.  Fill with pie weights (you can use dried beans, rice, etc.).  Bake the crust for 25 minutes, then carefully remove the foil and weights.  Bake for another 7-10 minutes, until firm and golden brown.  Cool the crust completely.

For the grapefruit crémeux:
2 teaspoons powdered gelatin, bloomed in 1 1/2 tablespoons cold water
3/4 cup (150) g sugar
2 large pink grapefruits
3 large eggs
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 tablespoons Campari

Put the sugar in a 2- to 3-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan and grate the grapefruits over it.  Rub the sugar and zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist.  Squeeze the juice from the grapefruits into a measuring up until you have 3/4 cup of juice.  Add the eggs to the sugar and start whisking immediately.  Continue to whisk as you add the juice.

Place the saucepan over medium heat and continue whisking.  Eventually, after 7-9 minutes, the custard will start to thicken.  When it reaches 180°F (or when the first bubble pops at the surface), remove from the heat and strain into a blender.

Allow the custard to sit in the blender for about 5 minutes, pulsing a few times to help the cooling process.  Heat the bloomed gelatin in the microwave for 15 seconds to liquefy, then add to the blender.  Blend on high, and start adding the butter, two tablespoons at a time.  After all the butter has been incorporated, add the Campari and blend until homogenous in color.  Scrape the crémeux into a bowl, press a piece of plastic wrap to the surface, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.

For the topping:
2 large pink grapefruits

About 3 hours (or up to 8 hours) before you want to serve the tart, cut off all the peel and pith away from the tart.  You want to carefully cut through the outer membrane of the grapefruit, too.  Then, using a small paring knife, cut on either sides of the membranes in between each section to release each section.  There should be no membrane left on the sections.  Place the segments on several layers of paper towels, cover with more paper towels, and allow to dry at room temperature.  At this point, you can try arranging the segments to see if you'll have enough to cover the surface of the tart.

For the lemon-almond cream:
3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (50 g) almond flour
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 large egg, at room temperature

Beat butter until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes.  Beat in the brown sugar for a minute, and then beat in the almond flour and grated zest until smooth again.  Add the egg and beat until fully incorporated.  Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Assembling the tart:

Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Whisk the chilled lemon-almond cream until it is spreadable.  Spread the cream over the bottom of the tart crust and bake for 6-7 minutes, until the cream is set.  Cool the tart completely before the next step.

About 2 hours before you want to serve the tart, whisk the grapefruit crémeux until it's smooth (unlike the picture above).  Spread over the lemon-almond cream.  Arrange the grapefruit segments on top of the crémeux.  Chill the tart for another 2-8 hours before serving.

Next:  Matcha Financiers with White Chocolate Centers
Previously:  First Night in Florence Spaghetti
Two Years Ago:  Cauliflower Steak with Cauliflower Purée
Six Years Ago:  Boston Cream Cupcakes

Citrus Cured Salmon

Ever since I saw Jen's post for Thomas Keller's citrus marinated salmon, I've wanted to try it out.  I love cold-smoked salmon, and the thought that I could make something similar at home was really intriguing to me.  I was in Seattle again recently, and went to Pike Place Market specifically to get another Copper River sockeye salmon just for this purpose.  Since the salmon is never actually cooked, you'll want to get the freshest sushi-grade salmon available and treat it as you would if preparing sushi by keeping it chilled as much as possible.

Jen's recipe calls for a teaspoon and a half each of lime zest, lemon zest, orange zest, and grapefruit zest, but it's okay if you don't have all four citrus fruits; you just need about 2 tablespoons total of citrus zest for this recipe.  Since I had the time to cure my salmon for a full 24 hours, I chose not to press the salmon while curing it, trusting that time and salt would perform the necessary osmosis.

The change in texture of the cured salmon is pretty spectacular.  It's a lot more dense and almost gummy like pâte de fruit.  By itself, the cured salmon can be pretty salty, but served with some crème fraîche or sour cream and crackers, it makes for a wonderfully impressive appetizer!

Citrus Cured Salmon (adapted from Tiny Urban Kitchen)
serves 6-8

Zest from 1 pink grapefruit
Zest from 1 orange
Zest from 1 lemon
Zest from 1 lime
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 salmon filet, skin removed (about 2 lbs.)

Mix the zests, salt, and sugar together.

Feel along the salmon and if there are any pin bones, remove them with tweezers or pliers.

Line a large tray with enough plastic wrap to completely wrap the filet.  Spoon half of the salt mixture onto the tray in the shape of the filet.  Place the filet on top, and spoon the rest of the salt mixture on top of the salmon.  Spread the salt mixture evenly over the fish. 

 Wrap well with the plastic wrap, and transfer the tray to the refrigerator.  Let cure for 24 hours.

Unwrap the salmon and rinse under cold water.  Pat dry and transfer to a cutting board.  With a sharp knife, cut thin slices at an angle against the grain.

Serve with crème fraîche, sour cream, or cream cheese and crackers or bread.  I served mine with chive cream cheese and hearty crispbread.

After you've zested the fruits, you'll want to use them right away for something else or else they'll dry up really quickly.  I recommend juicing them; I used the juice to make an Atlantic Beach Pie!

Next:  Bill Smith's Atlantic Beach Pie
Previously:  Coconut Ice Cream with Mango Passion Caramel Swirl
Last Year:  Shakshuka Pizza

Grapefruit Pie

Did I ever tell you that I used to be a chemist?  While I don't work in a lab anymore (for which I'm eternally grateful), I do miss it sometimes.  I guess I kind of view the kitchen as my laboratory these days--a place to experiment and create new things.  This next recipe isn't my creation; it's from Momofuku Milk Bar, but it does have some really cool steps.  You gently heat grapefruit sections with a small amount of oil, and all the little "kernels" separate from one another.  And when you add grapefruit juice and citric acid to sweetened condensed milk, it thickens without needing to add any heat.  Luckily, I was able to find citric acid in the bulk spice section of my local grocery store. 

There are quite a few steps to making this pie, but the end result is pretty impressive, so I think it's worth it.  First you make some Ritz crunch (like Cornflake Crunch, but with Ritz crackers) and then press it into a pie pan.  Then you make a grapefruit and passion fruit curd that becomes the bottom layer of the pie.  Finally you make the sweetened condensed grapefruit layer and spread it on top before chilling the whole thing to set it.

 
Grapefruit Pie (from Momofuku Milk Bar)
makes 1 pie

Ritz Crunch
1 sleeve Ritz crackers
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Pour the crackers in a medium bowl and crush them with your hands to one-quarter of their original size. Add the milk powder, sugar and salt, and toss to mix. Add the butter and toss to coat. As you toss, the butter will act as glue, binding the dry ingredients to the cracker pieces and creating small clusters.

 
Preheat oven to 275°F.

 
Press the Ritz crunch into a 10″ pie plate. Using your fingers and the palms of your hands, press the crunch in firmly, making sure to cover the bottom and sides evenly and completely. Put the tin on a sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes. Cool the crust completely.

Grapefruit Passion Curd
1/4 cup passion fruit puree
3 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
1/4 teaspoon powdered gelatin
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large grapefruit
1 teaspoon canola oil

 
Put the passion fruit puree and sugar into a blender and blend until the sugar has dissolved. Add the egg and blend on low until the mixture is smooth and bright orange-yellow. Pour the mixture into a medium saucepan and clean the blender canister.

Bloom the gelatin in 2 tablespoons cold water.

 
Heat the passion fruit mixture over low heat, whisking regularly as it thickens. Once it starts to boil, transfer back to the blender. Add the bloomed gelatin, butter, and salt, and beat until the mixture is super-smooth. Transfer to a container and chill in the fridge until completely cool.

 

While it’s cooling, remove the rind of the grapefruit completely, leaving no white pith behind.  Then carefully remove each segment of grapefruit from its membrane by slicing down both sides of each segment along the membrane to the center of the fruit; the segments should come right out.

 
In a small saucepan heat the oil and grapefruit on low heat, stirring occasionally. After about 2 minutes, the warm oil will help separate and encapsulate the individual grapefruit ‘kernels’. Remove from heat and let the kernels cool slightly before proceeding.

 

Using a spoon or rubber spatula, gently stir the grapefruit kernels into the cooled passion fruit curd.

Using a spoon or an offset spatula, spread the grapefruit passion curd evenly over the bottom of the Ritz crust. Put the pie in the freezer to set the curd until firm, about 30 minutes.

Sweetened Condensed Grapefruit

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons grapefruit juice

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon citric acid

1 drop red food coloring

Combine the sweetened condensed milk, grapefruit juice, salt, citric acid and food coloring in a medium bowl and mix with a rubber spatula by stirring and folding over the mixture until it is homogeneous.

Using a spoon or an offset spatula, spread the sweetened condensed grapefruit on top of the curd, being careful not to mix the two layers and making sure the curd is entirely covered. Return to the freezer until ready to slice and serve. Wrapped (gently) in plastic, the pie can be frozen for up to 1 month.

 
I'd recommend thawing the pie a little before serving because the filling can get a little icy straight out of the freezer.  Other than that, this is a really great pie, kind of like the grown up version of a key lime pie.  I think it'd make a nice change from all the more traditional apple and pumpkin pies at a holiday meal.  And I still can't get over how cool it is that there are little individual kernels of grapefruit suspended in the passion fruit curd.  Isn't it so pretty?

 
Next:  Pretzel Ice Cream Pie with Homemade Magic Shell
Previously:  Duchikey (or Simplified Turducken)

Cranberry Royale Sorbet

Last week I got to go on a Cranberry Farm Picking Experience with Colonial Lantern Tours.  I've gone apple picking and strawberry picking before, but this was the first time I've ever gone cranberry picking.  No, we didn't get to put on those rubber overalls and wade in a cranberry bog, but we did get to see how a flooded cranberry bog is harvested and also how cranberries are dry harvested.  Lastly, we got to hand pick our own cranberries!  Fun fact:  only 10% of cranberries are dry harvested, and only the dry harvested cranberries will be sold fresh in stores.  The other 90% are wet harvested and will go into cranberry products like cranberry sauce and cranberry juice.

 
Even before I went on the tour, I started looking up cranberry recipes to try.  The ones that caught my eye were a bittersweet cranberry brownie and a pecan topped cranberry cake.  Then my friend Ellen suggested that I make Jeni's Cranberry Royale Sorbet.  And boy, am I glad she did. 

Cranberry Royale Sorbet from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home
makes about 1 quart

2 grapefruits (you need enough to get 3/4 cup of juice; I needed 1 1/2 large grapefruits)
One 12-ounce bag cranberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 1/2 cups sugar

 
Using a vegetable peeler, remove 3 large strips of zest from 1 of the grapefruits. Halve the grapefruits and squeeze 3/4 cup juice.

 

Combine the grapefruit juice, zest, cranberries, water, corn syrup, and sugar in a 4-quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil just until the cranberries begin to pop open, about 5 minutes. (My cranberries started to pop before it was anywhere close to boiling, so I just put a splatter screen on top of the saucepan and continued to heat the pan.) Remove from the heat and let cool.

 

Remove the grapefruit zest. If desired, puree the cranberry mixtures in batches, or leave unpureed for a chunkier sorbet.

 

Chill the mixtue and then freeze in an ice cream maker. Spin just until the consistency of very softly whipped cream.

 

Pack the sorbet into a storage container, press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

  

On the following page in her book, there's a gorgeous picture of an Oslo Ambrosia sundae, which consists of a meringue topped with raspberry lingonberry sauce, a scoop of the Cranberry Royale, and topped with cardamon scented whipped cream.  I just knew I had to try to make this sundae, if only because it looked so pretty.  Instead of making a raspberry lingonberry sauce, though, I just saved a few tablespoons of the sorbet base before it was frozen and added a spoonful of raspberry preserves.

 

I also used coconut whipped cream instead of dairy whipped cream and should be posting that recipe soon.  (Edited to add:  here's the post!)